1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for tracking user devices. More specifically, one or more embodiments relate to systems and methods of tracking a mobile user device and linking activities to the mobile user device.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Analytics companies track user interactions to generate analytics reports. Analytics reports detail user interactions with advertisements, user visits to websites, user purchases, and other interactions. The data gathered by analytics reports can provide valuable insights. For example, analytic reports can help entities learn which advertising campaigns are successful and which campaigns are not successful. Analytic reports can also help entities learn where and when advertising can be most effective for converting potential customers into customers.
In order to conduct mobile device campaign tracking, advertisers need a way to uniquely identify mobile users on a given device. Conventionally, analytics companies track mobile devices using the media access control (MAC) address or the unique identifier (UDID). Recently, however, tracking mobile devices has become challenging due to privacy laws or other restrictions placed on the collection of customer data. For example, some countries limit the amount of location information that can be used in tracking device information. In another example, some content hosting services (e.g., some application stores) prevent the use of certain device identifiers such as the MAC address or the UDID.
Tracking mobile devices can become particularly difficult when attempting to link activities that occur through a third-party content supplier (such as for example, an application store). In particular, many third-party application stores will not allow cookie-based tracking. Thus, when a user of a mobile device follows a link to a mobile application store for downloading an application, conventional analytics systems may be unable to directly determine when or if the user downloaded the application.
These and other disadvantages may exist with respect to conventional mobile tracking techniques.